Encouraging a Clean City, Through Civic Pride

The city of Indore, in Madhya Pradesh, is setting a great example of urban cleanliness. It has been India’s cleanest city for eight straight years, and its citizens are making lasting changes for the better.

“You need a willing public, a determined government, and here and there you need very energetic, proactive individuals to keep up the momentum,” states Prabhnit Sawhney, a petrol pump owner. “Only then will habits going back generations change.”

The government launched intensive public awareness campaigns to bring about this new behaviour. Before 2017, Indore was ranked 25th of 471 towns and cities in India’s cleanliness rankings. The push was successful because it instilled a sense of civic pride. Maintaining Indore’s reputation – it won the title eight years in a row – has been a great motivator. No more smelly garbage dumps or animal excrement lying in the streets. Now, every morning, pavements and road dividers are hosed down with recycled water, and garbage vans roll out to the sound of the jingle “Indore Has Become Number One” for people to come out with their trash. There are now 850 sweepers and thousands of different colored bins to collect household waste. Waste is converted into fuel and compost sold to farmers as manure; restaurants have mobile composting vans; and residents have taken up cleanliness as their responsibility. Schoolchildren must take oaths to keep the city clean, CCTV cameras have been installed, and fines are imposed on anyone who drops trash.